Most of us recognise that social media isn’t exactly a positive presence in the world. Yet until recently, there was relatively little agreement on what to do about it. That has changed with the introduction of a groundbreaking law in Australia, banning under-16s from using social media entirely, a concept that is being picked up by lawmakers all over the world.
For businesses across Europe, particularly those targeting younger audiences, the disappearance of entire marketing channels is a bleak prospect. But to what extent is the ban actually working, how bad is it likely to be for businesses in Europe—and should businesses even be advertising to children in the first place?
A TikTokking clock
Recent years have seen the pressure ratcheting up on social media firms to take action on issues like bullying and harassment, but to little effect. Companies like Meta and X have long argued that they follow principles of free speech, and that while they do their best to remove illegal content, there is no way to eliminate it completely. Any measures to make users more accountable—say by requiring photo ID to sign up—would be a major logistical hurdle, impose on people’s privacy, and be prohibitively expensive.
Campaigners have had to change tack, and with surprisingly great success. Two recent U.S. court cases both found against social media companies, ruling that their platforms were deliberately designed to get users addicted, with negative consequences for their mental health. Perhaps most notably, Australia has taken a leading role by going straight after their bottom line. By passing legislation to restrict social media access for under-16s, they’ve instead put the responsibility on social media platforms to enforce age limits, or risk being banned from the country entirely.
Related article: Why the European startup ecosystem is flourishing
Meanwhile, similar conversations are gaining traction in countries like the UK and France, where policymakers are increasingly focused on the mental health impact of social media, and the need to protect young users. To them (and a surprising majority of people in Europe), legislating against these firms seems like a bit of a silver bullet for rising concerns around mental health, shifting the onus away from expensive healthcare solutions to addressing what they see as a root cause.
The role of social media in youth marketing
Over the past decade in particular, social media has become central to how companies connect with younger consumers. Instagram, X and YouTube have long been popular channels for advertising, while many companies have also now taken to TikTok, with employees encouraged to let their hair down, and post lighthearted content. The more social media has become its own cultural ecosystem, the more businesses have used it to identify trends, and harnessed its ability to influence people’s purchasing decisions.
The influence of social media on fashion, beauty, and lifestyle products (coincidentally, areas where France has a big stake!) has been particularly transformative. Influencer marketing, user-generated content, and viral trends and memes have allowed brands to build more direct relationships with younger audiences. It feels like that cat is particularly difficult to get back in the bag, and most businesses aren’t keen to try.
In this sense, social media is a bit of a grey area. Advertising to children and young people is strictly regulated in the EU, and this applies to social media ads. But social media advertising in general is poorly regulated in many countries due to the scope of these platforms, and how targeted ads can be, making them hard to track. And posts that aren’t directly advertorial or sponsored content from influencers can often make its way into kids’ feeds anyway. The result is an indelible link between advertising and social media for young people, but also one that deserves real scrutiny.
The impact on European businesses
As mentioned above, there are some countries that might suffer more from such a ban than others. France’s fashion and beauty industry would be an obvious example, but there are more diverse examples too. The continent’s burgeoning tech sectors might find their ability to encourage app downloads limited, while the cultural capital of trailers for movies or TV shows might take a hit with fewer young people watching them. Any product that even tangentially targets children could find not just fewer eyeballs, but less potential to go viral.
Related article: Guide to doing business in Europe
The biggest hit may simply be to reporting and metrics. Kids will still communicate, and things might get shared around in private messaging, or in person, but there could be fewer ways to substantiate this beyond direct sales. But in some cases, the biggest impact may be on practices that ought to have been banned anyway, or were already regulated. Kids nagging parents to buy something because of a social media advert may be less of a common occurrence in future (even if peer pressure remains the strongest marketing tool!).
The biggest impact is likely to be on how businesses target their advertising spend. If there is less of an ecosystem for social media posting or advertising intended for young people, companies might have to shift to targeting parents instead. In many ways, this is nothing new: the new Super Mario Galaxy Movie is likely as much targeted at parents who fondly remember the old games as it is their kids anyway. But this could be reinforced for businesses, particularly those lucky enough to have been around for a while, and which can capitalise on the nostalgia and fond memories of parents. Other younger companies and startups might have to shoot for more generic forms of nostalgia to bring parents in, and by association their kids.
How businesses might need to adapt
There are differing opinions on the social media bans for under 16s, not least how effective they can actually be. We’ve seen recently in the UK how easily adult content filters can be bypassed, with reports of people using video game characters to bypass face ID tools. But what cannot be denied is that some kind of reckoning for the influence of social media is overdue. It’s also not the first crisis that threatened to take away a social media network, with TikTok almost disappearing recently as a result of Trump’s demands to sell the company.
What it does then is highlight the fragility of these platforms, and the need for a lighter touch. It’s also a reminder that other marketing channels exist. Social media is not the be-all-and-end-all, and in many cases, somewhere that businesses feel obliged to be without the stats to back it up. Not every social media channel will work for you, and audiences already differ substantially between social media networks.
Related article: Does Europe need to become more self-sufficient?
One likely outcome is a renewed focus on slightly older demographics. It seems likely that brands will pivot towards young adults aged 18 and over, who are still highly active on social media, but fall outside the scope of most proposed restrictions. There will also be a slightly cynical conclusion that some young people may sign up anyway and lie about their age, bumping it up into these age brackets.
At the same time, European businesses might need to look at diversifying their marketing channels. Traditional digital advertising in outdoor spaces could see a bit of a resurgence, as could partnerships with retailers, or even experiential marketing campaigns. Something else to consider is which ‘social media networks’ actually fall under the auspices of these bans. If X is a social network but YouTube or Twitch aren’t, these are great targets to shift your advertising towards, and could be a great opportunity to reach a new audience even before these bans come into place.
There is also the possibility that platforms themselves will evolve. If stricter age verification becomes the norm, social media companies may create clearer segmentation between adult and underage users. This could actually improve targeting for advertisers, ensuring that campaigns reach audiences who are legally and ethically appropriate.
Limiting access to a massive marketing channel obviously doesn’t seem like a great development for businesses. But regardless of where you sit on the broader issue of the harm caused by social media, it is a development that should encourage European businesses to come up with contingencies, and start thinking about how such a ban might impact their marketing and product strategies.
Social media has been a powerful and cost-effective way to reach large audiences, but it’s also one that’s often misused, and either under- or over-relied on. If this wave of social media bans in Europe does come to pass, it could be a good opportunity to consider whether you’re using social media in the most effective way—and whether more traditional channels (and even more retro products) could serve you better in the long run.
